Chicago vs. Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh

[muon2]

One category where Chicago is unquestionably first is in initial growth. In the first 30 years since its incorporation in 1837 it grew by a factor of about 100 (from 1840 to 1870 it grew from 4.5K to 300K - a factor of 66 and was growing even faster before 1840). By contrast Shenzhen China only grew about a factor of 30 in its first 30 years after being created as a special economic zone.

Chicago also moved up more than out. It pioneered the steel-frame skyscraper and has one of the tallest skylines in the world. Its 10 tallest buildings have an average height that exceeds NYC.